Where Healthy Living is Cool

About Me

Hey! My name is Mandy. I’m 30 years old and I am a mother of 3, and man oh man has my life changed over the past 5 years. Let me tell you about it!

I grew up on a meat and potatoes diet, like most Canadians. In my early 20’s I ate what I wanted, when I wanted it. I was borderline anaemic and I couldn’t figure out why! I ate tons of red meat. I had bad allergies to pollen, grass, and dust – so I really disliked spring and summer. I had strep throat around 6 times a year and was allergic to codeine and penicillin. My diet consisted of beer, pizza, microwaved food, too much fast food, with hardly to no exercise. I never ate fruit and the veggies were always cooked. I really wasn’t getting enough nutrition to maintain any form of a healthy life. Plus I was a mom, who really didn’t know anything about living a healthy lifestyle. I liked to drink, party with friends, dance, I didn’t like going to work, but I managed to keep a job. I really wasn’t the person who I wanted to be!

I had my son, Seth, at that time and he was a formula/western medicine baby. I thought I had run out of breast milk at 3 months so he was fed formula and cow’s milk at a very young age (I recently found out I had clogged milk ducts and I should have fed and fed and fed him to unclog them). Seth was fully vaccinated up to age 4. Seth developed eczema all over his body at 3 years of age and was always sick and so was I – due to our lifestyle. I remember him always having the worst colds and he had the flu often too (lots of projectile vomiting). I had a lot of sick days at work, either cuz I was ill or Seth was! Whenever he was sick I would take him to the doctors and put him on antibiotics for everything. I did exactly as I was told by my doctor.

I lived a very unhappy, unmotivated, self conscious life. I was jealous of people who ran or were athletic. I hated them. I wanted what they had and was confused why I wasn’t special enough to have that. I was in a rut with my life and didn’t know how to move forward. I drank booze more then once a week and was hung over too often. Oh ya…and I smoked. I was overweight and life was awful, until I met Tod.

I started dating Tod in 2011 and he was very healthy. He ran regularly and was in great shape. He had a glow that attracted me to him. He said it was from eating a healthy diet and getting exercise. He showed me the book Conscious Health. I read it and was a bit sceptical at first. It basically went against everything I had been “brainwashed” to believe. “How could pasteurized milk be bad for you?”…

I wanted to have that glow and get excited about life (just like how Tod was) so I changed my lifestyle despite all the questions I had. Seth and I started adding organic raw fruits and veggies to our diets. Then I quit smoking and drinking. We also took out fast food, the white poisons – white flour, white rice, table salt, pasteurized dairy, & refined sugar, the use of a microwave, cut out all junk food, and switched out all the bad for the good – over one full year! But we did it and my body told me everyday “I FEEL AWESOME!”

I learnt to love whole foods and have a new respect for food that gave me life! All living food from nature helped heal my body. It all gave me vitality, energy, and life!

Our lives were changing fast! We noticed Seth’s eczema started to fade and over time we barely got sick. With the start of regular physical activity I noticed my pant size was dropping, my skin was getting clearer, my monthly cycle cramps reduced and I wasn’t tired anymore, my iron levels had raised. Plus no more allergies! This was a miracle!

Tod and I got married in 2012 and tried to have a baby but had no luck. I was still working hard on my health journey and new I had to get much healthier before we conceived. I emailed Ron (who is the author of the health book I was talking about before) asking him for help. He replied with a couple changes that could me made. I did them right away and I got pregnant that month! No joke! I changed to a wheat free diet that consisted of no refined sugar. The only dairy I had was organic unsalted butter. We ate organic grass fed bison and fresh caught salmon monthly, and supplemented with Cod liver oil, spirulina, Vitamin D3 and chlorella. I ate plenty of fruit and veggies throughout all my days. My pregnancy went great. I gained around 24 lbs in total and didn’t get gestational diabetes, stretch marks, or bad morning sickness. I even worked out until 8.5 months pregnant.

I had a water birth at home and gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, who couldn’t have been more healthy. We decided to supplement her with vitamin K, instead of the shot, when she was born. She has only had a minor cold for 2 days in her whole first year. She was late teething but got them all in by 2 and a half years of age. Her first foods (at 9 months) were all raw so plenty of fruits, veggies, and breast milk. She has clear skin and bright eyes. She has a perfect bill of health – thanks to my awesome diet during pregnancy! To read more about Kyri and her natural life I’ve recorded all of it here, to inspire others!

Seth and my step daughter Chloe have been eating a healthy diet as well. They both had bad allergies which are pretty much gone, mine as well. Seth’s eczema is much clearer and he hasn’t been sick, other than a couple healing crisis’ (cleansing), in 2 years. Seth is doing cross-fit three times a week and Chloe dances 5 times a week. We are a healthy fit family!

Tod and I like to teach the kids about how health and exercise are important. They make us feel great and energized! We strive to continue to grow spiritually, physically and mentally. Tod is currently running 42km runs each week and isn’t soar after. He also does crossfit at home! He is my inspiration.

I am doing Zumba, yoga and fitness video’s at home almost everyday. Sometimes I even get out for a nice long run.

We owe all our thanks to Ron Garner and his books. He has become a close friend and I even got to help him edit his new book, which was just released on paperback. It’s called The Disease-Free Revolution. Click here to order it. His books are life changing and we have recommended them to all our family and friends, who notice our glow and want to know more about our health.

My life is wonderful. I have an amazing supportive husband, wonderful kids and I have great health. All because I worked hard to get here!

I am working hard on raising our kids, exercising, creating new healthy recipes, and trying to be the best wife I can possibly be (and try to get in some me time too). I love going to church to see my wonderful Christian family. Our new pastor always has the best motivational speeches, (I wish I didn’t have a fear of speaking in public.) I am so blessed and so grateful for discovering health.

Health

It takes discipline,

a need for change,

drive, motivation,

inspiration, love,

creativity,

a change in routine,

and

knowledge to start AND keep at it.

I have a newfound respect for people who cook! It’s hard work doing it everyday! I have fallen in love with cooking and baking. I love using whole foods to create food that will nourish our bodies. Food that gives us energy, protects us, and makes us thrive is what we eat everyday now. Please click here for tons of amazing recipes I have created over the years! They are delicious! I promise. They are even life changing, because they help heal and nourish you!!

For my future goals, I want to be able to help people. And so does my husband Tod. We want to help people who are willing to make small changes but don’t know how. We will see what the future has to hold. I am looking forward to meeting new people and growing and bonding with people alike.

Awards

About Mandy

Mandy is a health enthusiast who loves leading by example. She is always thirsty for knowledge and loves to implement new creative ideas into her life. She is a wife and a mother of 3. She created Mandy's Healthy life to inspire others to live a healthy life - so they can feel their very best every day.

Mandy wrote Healthy Food, Healthy Home, Healthy Life in 2014 and has written two ebooks and one 12-week lifestyle challenge since, which starts again on March 20th! Are you in? Search Radiance Challenge here on Mandy's Healthy Life and join! ♥

Mandy is currently writing her second book Love Your Healthy Body and is getting ready for the Radiance Challenge. She practices holistic health daily and nourishes her body with home cooked organic food. Check out her recipes, her routine, her adventures and more, right here on Mandy's Healthy Life!